RF Seat for 3 year old

[Jana]

Hello

My son will be 3 in March. He is 37" and about 32 lbs. He is getting close to the top of the shell of his MyRide. I dislike the Myride. I find it hard to get him in and out over the sides and I find it really hard to buckle. It is tricky to get in an upright enough position in the center of our Honda Pilot. It fits well in the center of our Toyota Corolla.

We also have a Radian. I think it is the XTP. It is the bright blue sport looking fabric. It looks like my son has quite a bit of room to grow in the Radian. I find it easy to buckle. It installs well in both vehicles with the angle adjuster.

I am finding it confusing to compare car seats. I was looking at the Foonf but it looks to have a lower (43") height limit than the Radian even though I keep seeing people say it has a higher height limit. Are these my two options? Or is there something else with a high height limit in Canada that I should be looking at?

I don't have any particular age goal in how long to rearface. I want to have whatever seat is available that will allow him to rearface the longest. Cost is not a concern.

 

[smackeen]

If it was not for the 43in height limit on the foonf, it would last longer rear facing than the radian, BUT, it does have the limit.

I think another radian would be your best bet to get the most time rear facing.

Here is an excellent price for the rxt: [ame="http://www.amazon.ca/Diono-16944-RadianRXT-Ventura-Grey/dp/B009HPOYN8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360517648&sr=8-1"]Diono RadianRXT Ventura, Grey: Amazon.ca: Baby[/ame]

 

[tiggercat]

The Foonf has a 40lb/43in RF limit, so it isn't likely to last longer than the RXT.
My own 3.5 year old 32lb 40in kiddo still fits in the RXT quite nicely. He will outgrow it by the 1.5in headspace requirement, likely.

Edited, the peg perego pv convertible might be another one to look at. 46in height limit, up to the 7th headrest position allowed.
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[Jana]

Thank you for the help!

Does the Radian have a height limit? Is there anything to suggest Foonf will be raising the height limit to the 1 inch rule?

 

[tiggercat]

Thank you for the help!

Does the Radian have a height limit? Is there anything to suggest Foonf will be raising the height limit to the 1 inch rule?

The Radian has a 44in numerical height limit, and the occupant must have 1.5inches of space above the head.
The Foonf will not be seeing an increase in the height or weight limits anytime soon, from what i understand, because of an issue with the "antirebound" portion of the 2012 regulations.

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[Jana]

Thank you. That is very helpful.

Looking at those numbers it seems like the Peg Perego PV would be the best option. I might be able to travel to look at them in Winnipeg. Is there any factor I should know about that would make him outgrow the Peg Perego before the Radian?

 

[tiggercat]

Thank you. That is very helpful.

Looking at those numbers it seems like the Peg Perego PV would be the best option. I might be able to travel to look at them in Winnipeg. Is there any factor I should know about that would make him outgrow the Peg Perego before the Radian?

I am not sure how tall the 7th height setting is on the Peg. I think there might be pictures on here somewhere, I will see if I can find you a comparison.

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[MommyShannon]

If it's the same as in the US, its only 24" which isn't very tall at all.

 

[tiggercat]

If it's the same as in the US, its only 24" which isn't very tall at all.

Do you happen to know the numbers for the Radian and Foonf as well? I know there was a thread with all 3, and pictures, but the search function isn't bringing it up for some reason.

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[Pixelated]

I think the internal seating height is about 24" of bum to top of head space on the radian - with the 1.5" on top of that, and the foonf is 25" of seated height, with their 1" on top of that. The radian is 44" standing and foonf is 43" standing, so if your child is long in the torso, as it sounds like he may be, then you may get more time in the foonf despite its lower standing height limit. The exact measurement will vary by child and install angle. I think the Peg is very comparable to Britax seats with about 23" of seating height.

 

[tiggercat]

I think the internal seating height is about 24" of bum to top of head space on the radian - with the 1.5" on top of that, and the foonf is 25" of seated height, with their 1" on top of that. The radian is 44" standing and foonf is 43" standing, so if your child is long in the torso, as it sounds like he may be, then you may get more time in the foonf despite its lower standing height limit. The exact measurement will vary by child and install angle. I think the Peg is very comparable to Britax seats with about 23" of seating height.

Thanks for the breakdown.
How is it possible that the RN only has one extra inch over the Britaxes? Just doesn't fit with how Sam fits on each seat. He is a bit of a "magic torso" kid in that he fits in some seats he shouldn't, and doesn't fit in some he should.

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[Jana]

I just measured him against a wall. Seated he is 14" bum to shoulders, 21.5" bum to top of head and standing he is 37" tall.

I don't really know if that is short or long torsoed. I was actually surprised to see he is below average in height but above average in weight on the charts. I thought he was getting really tall and skinny but I guess that is just in comparison to what he used to be.

 

[Pixelated]

Thanks for the breakdown.
How is it possible that the RN only has one extra inch over the Britaxes? Just doesn't fit with how Sam fits on each seat. He is a bit of a "magic torso" kid in that he fits in some seats he shouldn't, and doesn't fit in some he should.

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I pulled those numbers off of the spreadsheets but I was surprised too. Maybe I'll go re-measure the Britax and Radian seats myself to double check. I think the Foonf numbers are like that on their website though. I'll do it after lunch and get right back!

 

[Persimmon]

Thanks for the breakdown.
How is it possible that the RN only has one extra inch over the Britaxes? Just doesn't fit with how Sam fits on each seat. He is a bit of a "magic torso" kid in that he fits in some seats he shouldn't, and doesn't fit in some he should.

I just went through this when DS outgrew his BLVD 70 RF by height and needed a new seat. The way it was explained to me was that the angle of installation can give you more height--hence the recommendation to try the Peg out in your car and not in the store to get a true indication of how much shell height is left. Does that seem right to you? I am not a tech so I just went with it.

 

[tiggercat]

I just went through this when DS outgrew his BLVD 70 RF by height and needed a new seat. The way it was explained to me was that the angle of installation can give you more height--hence the recommendation to try the Peg out in your car and not in the store to get a true indication of how much shell height is left. Does that seem right to you? I am not a tech so I just went with it.

It's true, the angle of installation can make a difference, as well as the shape of the child restraint (some are flat backed while others are bowl shaped).

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[Pixelated]

Holy cow does the shape of the child ever matter! I've never measured for myself before. Here's what I got on the four I had readily available to measure. The Radian was the only one installed, but the others I approximated an upright install. The measurement is for the useful seated height, taking into account the 1" or 1.5" as required.

Radian - 24"
True Fit - 26"
Advocate - 23"
MyRide - 23"

My youngest outgrew the Britaxes about 5 months ago, just before she turned 2. She's still got 1" of torso growth left in the MyRide, and tons in the Radian, maybe 3". She's out of the True Fit by weight though so I don't know how much actual head space she has in it. I just sat her on the floor and measured to the top of her head - 22". So bizarre - the Britax seems to eat shell height once there's a kid in it.

 

[Persimmon]

Holy cow does the shape of the child ever matter!

That (and how you can magically gain shell/headrest height when the seat it is installed) was what was making me nuts when I was car seat shopping and trying to compare DS with other people's kids. DS has a huge head. I just wanted everyone to pick one universal seat and say "My kid had x amount of inches of seated height left after outgrowing the universal seat."

 

[MommyShannon]

Yeah, the Peg is so tempting, but with measurements matching a Britax, its hard to go for. I don't know if it eats height like them or not. If it doesn't and lasts more like a MyRide, that's great.

 

[Persimmon]

Yeah, the Peg is so tempting, but with measurements matching a Britax, its hard to go for. I don't know if it eats height like them or not. If it doesn't and lasts more like a MyRide, that's great.

I have heard, but have never tried, that you gain height in the Peg once it is installed in the car--you know, one of those magic seats. I need to actually try one in my car because I have been wondering exactly how much more room you get over a Britax.

 

[Jana]

I just realized the Foonf website says it only rear faces to 40lbs.

I still haven't decided what to do but I don't really see an advantage of the Foonf over another Radian.

Is there anything that would help me decide based on eventual forward facing?

I think we will get to 4 or 5 in the radian if my son continues to be below 50th percentile in height. I'm wondering if he'd make it for awhile yet in a Peg and then how it would be as a forward facing seat when he outgrows it rear facing.

It seems like the Radian would last way longer than the Foonf forward facing.